2017 iMac refresh wish list [merged]

[Icaras]

2TB SSD is a given. Wireless touchbar integrated into a third generation Apple aluminum keyboard would be fantastic.

But curved screen? Nah. I hope not anyway.

My wishlist is: it actually being released.. years in a row they have a fall release, and I plan to buy one finally and that's the year they don't seem to release one. sigh..

Yea it sucks. I'm not rock solid on the very first years of the iMac's timeline of releases, but i think this may be the first year they've ever skipped it.
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I like the concept of a new keyboard with the TouchBar and Finger ID scanner. Also, continued improvement of the TrackPad.

But definitely do NOT want larger screens, curved screens or touch screens.

In fact, I'd actually prefer no screen at all...

Stopped reading there when it became obvious this was going to be just another one of those midrange headless Mac rants lol

Simply put: Ain't gonna happen. Never has. Never will. It's been two decades already and Apple's certainly not going to start now, especially in this kind of post-PC landscape we live in today. I think whatever possibility there was for such a machine, sailed long ago once Apple dropped "computer" from the company's name. It's more openly considered that Apple's only two headless Macs will actually be EOL eventually.

 

[maflynn]

I really don't have a wish list, as I really like the iMac component wise and Apples has dug their heels in on the touch screen topic. I understand ergonomically for a desktop you don't want to stretch our hands straight out and reach for the screen, but as shown by others, there are ways to embrace touch screen.

Aside from that make SSDs standard, though I can still see having Fusion drives as an option a viable alternative for some

 

[Magwin]

Touchbar keyboard on the high ends/21'4K+27'5K

A GPU with some spin in it, seems to me this is the first time the iMac form factor can have such choices with the M cards running really cool and quiet. 480 and 490X? Or nah...

 

[kucharsk]

There is really nothing wrong with the current design of the iMac.

Certainly no Mac should ever have a touchscreen; that's for iOS devices only.

Fusion devices help to keep prices down; you can configure yourself a full SSD iMac if you're willing to pay the upcharge.

2 TB SSD? Have you priced them? Even at OWC they're $500 or so more than a 1 TB SSD.

 

[vapourtrails]

A giant touchscreen seems like a gimmick to me. I think the direction will be a new app to better pair the iPad Pro with the iMac. They will work seamlessly for video and image editing.

 

[Trahearne]

With the recent storage price drop, the SSD upgrades are pretty close to what NVMe M.2 SSDs cost IIRC.

 

[mollyc]

I've never understood the appeal of a curved screen. What advantages does it offer?

 

[Trahearne]

Provided that AMD wins the deal again in MBP this round, Mac likely won't use Nvidia. Then since the Oct 2016 mark was kinda missed, Apple is probably waiting for the ramp-up of both Kaby Lake (Zen... huh?) and AMD's HBM2 driven Vega... That's said Vega is likely just the top-of-the-line option, with Polaris 10/11 for the mid and low tier.

 

[Sirmausalot]

I would love this, i5 quad core and a full desktop GPU. There has been a hole in the line up for years between the iMac and Mac Pro that a desktop form factor would fill.

The iMac will NEVER get a desktop GPU because of the cooling and space required -- not to mention the cost. The iMac hits a certain price/performance spot that Apple likes a lot. However, the RAZER laptop can use an external TB 3 enclosure for an external card. It is possible that Apple could implement this for the iMac. Given there was a rumor of a GPU in a new monitor, but that never materialized, this could be an outside possibility.

 

[Trahearne]

The iMac will NEVER get a desktop GPU because of the cooling and space required -- not to mention the cost.

This is situational. Cost is not an issue either, since iMac's highest end GPU (M395X) is way far from the price segment that has no competition and super steep pricing at its launch. If they meant to provide more performant options, they can always design a cooling system that dissipates better, e.g. dual fan or separated cooling for CPU & GPU.

I'd wonder if noise level is the largest factor instead, and product segmentation w.r.t. Mac Pro. I'd like to see iMac 27 be redesigned to take over low-end Mac Pro's value proposition through... and leave Mac Pro to high core count + performant GPUs.

 

[Rapp]

The iMac will NEVER get a desktop GPU because of the cooling and space required -- not to mention the cost. The iMac hits a certain price/performance spot that Apple likes a lot. However, the RAZER laptop can use an external TB 3 enclosure for an external card. It is possible that Apple could implement this for the iMac. Given there was a rumor of a GPU in a new monitor, but that never materialized, this could be an outside possibility.

I was talking about a desktop form factor between iMac and Mac Pro not the iMac. I agree with you though, the space constraint in the iMac could not allow for full desktop GPU to be filled.

The external GPU could be an option, depends on price etc.

 

[macmee]

I was talking about a desktop form factor between iMac and Mac Pro not the iMac. I agree with you though, the space constraint in the iMac could not allow for full desktop GPU to be filled.

The external GPU could be an option, depends on price etc.

If Apple went back to their previous design, the 2008-2012 design (I think?) then they could fit a desktop GPU.

But of course they wont do that. God forbid Apple release a product that wasn't thinner than their last iteration.

Because quality control and performance don't matter. The only thing that matters is how thin the product is and how expensive it is.

 

[thekev]

I hope the redesign includes tossing LG out the window and going only with samsung to improve quality of the screens

LG panels are the most frequently used in general. There's virtually no chance of a switch to Samsung. They have been successfully used in a lot of displays, so your concerns seem unwarranted. Better alternatives went away as display margins went down in the late 2000s.

 

[macmee]

LG panels are the most frequently used in general. There's virtually no chance of a switch to Samsung. They have been successfully used in a lot of displays, so your concerns seem unwarranted. Better alternatives went away as display margins went down in the late 2000s.

I've gotten 2 macs in a row with LG panels and image retention. A quick google shows lots of people with LG macbooks and imacs have image retention problems. Also, people with LG's curved 34" 4k display are complaining about image retention.

IMO I would much rather a Samsung made display, because there's a lot less retention issues with Samsung than there is with LG.

 

[thekev]

IMO I would much rather a Samsung made display, because there's a lot less retention issues with Samsung than there is with LG.

Sure. It's just that IPS has been the dominant panel type for a long time, and most of the ones that show up in displays used in conjunction with a PC or Mac of any kind are made by LG. The issue of retention, which used to be labeled "image persistence," has been around for a very long time. I experienced troubles with it in 2006 and on the old Apple Cinema displays, all of which used LG panels. At that time it was a war between Samsung's PVA technology and LG with IPS.

It would be nice to see something that lacks these issues, but I don't expect to see Samsung make too many of the panels used in consumer displays. There are of course other components that impact the quality achieved in subtle ways.

 

[macmee]

Sure. It's just that IPS has been the dominant panel type for a long time, and most of the ones that show up in displays used in conjunction with a PC or Mac of any kind are made by LG. The issue of retention, which used to be labeled "image persistence," has been around for a very long time. I experienced troubles with it in 2006 and on the old Apple Cinema displays, all of which used LG panels. At that time it was a war between Samsung's PVA technology and LG with IPS.

It would be nice to see something that lacks these issues, but I don't expect to see Samsung make too many of the panels used in consumer displays. There are of course other components that impact the quality achieved in subtle ways.

Personally I am just very frustrated by it because Apple specifically markets the iMac and rMBPs as having the best panels in the industry. Like specifically the #1 selling point apple makes about the iMac is how glorious and perfect the 5k screen is. The color production along with the resolution of the 5k LG IPS panels is great, but the amount of image retention is just shocking. I have a handful of other IPS displays that have far less problems with retention so I'm really just left scratching my head over what went wrong here.

 

[thekev]

Personally I am just very frustrated by it because Apple specifically markets the iMac and rMBPs as having the best panels in the industry. Like specifically the #1 selling point apple makes about the iMac is how glorious and perfect the 5k screen is. The color production along with the resolution of the 5k LG IPS panels is great, but the amount of image retention is just shocking. I have a handful of other IPS displays that have far less problems with retention so I'm really just left scratching my head over what went wrong here.

Those are most likely LG panels as well. I've noticed that not all implementations are identical. I would be angry too. They're expensive items, and problems like that make them less practical.

 

[jigzaw]

My wishlist is: it actually being released.. years in a row they have a fall release, and I plan to buy one finally and that's the year they don't seem to release one. sigh..

Yup. And I'd had my sights set on getting my first iMac in Fall of '16 for a couple years now since I got my first Mac (Macbook Pro) in late 2013. I've said this in several other threads, but it's still on my mind- trying to decide whether I should stop waiting and get one now or hold out. My deciding factor is if I hear there's an iMac coming out by say, February, I'll wait, but if it's not until after the Summer tech shows (WWDC I think?) or even not until next Fall, then I would certainly go get my order in today... If only they gave some sort of heads-up to their plans.

 

[Trahearne]

Yup. And I'd had my sights set on getting my first iMac in Fall of '16 for a couple years now since I got my first Mac (Macbook Pro) in late 2013. I've said this in several other threads, but it's still on my mind- trying to decide whether I should stop waiting and get one now or hold out. My deciding factor is if I hear there's an iMac coming out by say, February, I'll wait, but if it's not until after the Summer tech shows (WWDC I think?) or even not until next Fall, then I would certainly go get my order in today... If only they gave some sort of heads-up to their plans.

March 2017 seems the highest chance. Although if they ain't gonna do a new chassis but only new parts, a refresh without aligning to the events is possible too, just like how late 2015 iMac had happened.

Kaby Lake is said to be launched in Jan 2017, which is probably the last piece of parts for the new iMac.

I am waiting for a new iMac too. Hope to see it before March.

 

[bounou]

I've never understood the appeal of a curved screen. What advantages does it offer?

I was right there with you before i got mine but for a computer it is really not a bad idea. Gives you better viewing angles. Best part is the ultrawide form factor, i would have a real problem moving to any other computer monitor.

 

[Sirmausalot]

Yup. And I'd had my sights set on getting my first iMac in Fall of '16 for a couple years now since I got my first Mac (Macbook Pro) in late 2013. I've said this in several other threads, but it's still on my mind- trying to decide whether I should stop waiting and get one now or hold out. My deciding factor is if I hear there's an iMac coming out by say, February, I'll wait, but if it's not until after the Summer tech shows (WWDC I think?) or even not until next Fall, then I would certainly go get my order in today... If only they gave some sort of heads-up to their plans.

Since that you have a decent computer now, then you should wait. It is likely a March sort of thing if all goes well. Apple may not even be sure as they wait for Kaby Lake to be available in quantity and there could be other issues behind the scenes we don't know about. The current late 2015 5K iMac is still an excellent, powerful computer though. Given your situation, be patient.

 

[richinaus]

hello guys.

I can't believe what I am doing here. After endless hours on the 'waiting for Skylake' MBP thread [which I am now awaiting a maxed out 13" to be delivered] I am on this thread..... and will be until it is released Had been expecting a port upgrade and GPU in October, but assume the lack of release means Kabylake.

Looking forward to the discussion of what is launched. For me, I would like to see the following :

Design - reduced chin and bezels [increase depth a little to compensate if needed] - this is not essential, just a like.
All TB3 / USB C [plus usual other ports]
Polaris GPU
Kabylake CPU
Reduced cost on the SSD upgrades
Possible touch bar on keyboard, although have reservations.

Doubt very much we will see an external graphics solution

March or earlier release

This will be the final piece in the puzzle for me [unless I see the Surface Studio and fall in love].
Will get this totally maxed out too and look to keep for about 3 years as this is a business machine for CAD / 3D etc.

 

[Dopplerdixon]

space grey*

 

[fokmik]

Design - reduced chin and bezels [increase depth a little to compensate if needed] - this is not essential, just a like.
All TB3 / USB C [plus usual other ports] probably 1 usb type a and 1 sd card
Polaris GPU
Kabylake CPU
Reduced cost on the SSD upgrades
Improved speakers (since its the last Apple device with built-in speakers that were not upgraded
Possible touch bar on keyboard, although have reservations.

 

[cynics]

My wish list based on my workload in this order. I'm trying to also be reasonable and realistic with cost.

34"+ Ultrawide monitor @ 1440p or higher.
6+ Core Intel CPU
3TB+ Fusion with a 256gb SSD portion @ their current 3gb/s speed

OR Apple could make a Mac Mini with a solid CPU and I would get that with my own monitor. I do a lot of video encoding so more cores is better for me however if I'm buying something new I just want it to encode faster (even slightly) then my current i5 Haswell.....NOT exactly a farfetched goal yet its unlikely I'll see that in a Mini.

Integrated graphics are fine for my usage.
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I've never understood the appeal of a curved screen. What advantages does it offer?

IMO for a 27" monitor and a normal viewing distance, not too much.

However on an ultra wide it gives better viewing angles and makes things feel centered. For example on a flat 34" ultra wide things toward the edges make you want to lean over to center yourself in front of them. If its curved its still pointing at you.

I don't think we will see a curved display from Apple. I've heard of photo and video editors complain about them due to variances caused by the curve while editing.